Troubleshooting: Booking Conflicts and Scheduling Issues

Shelf prevents double-bookings automatically — if two people try to reserve the same asset for overlapping dates, the second booking is blocked. This article explains how conflict prevention works and what to do when you hit a scheduling issue.

"This asset is not available for the selected dates"

This means someone else already has a booking that overlaps with your requested time window. To see who:

Open the asset's page → Bookings tab — all reservations are listed with dates and custodians
Or check the Calendar (Bookings → Calendar in the sidebar) in week or day view to see the visual overlap

If the existing booking is wrong or outdated, ask the booking owner or a workspace admin to cancel or shorten it.

Asset shows "Unavailable" and can't be booked at all

An admin may have marked the asset as not available for bookings. This is separate from custody — it's a toggle on the asset page:

Open the asset → right sidebar → look for Available for bookings toggle
If it's off, the asset can't be booked regardless of dates
Only admins and owners can toggle this setting

Common reasons an asset is marked unavailable: it's in maintenance, out for repair, decommissioned, or reserved for a specific department outside the booking system.

Booking a kit — one item in the kit is blocked

When you book a kit, Shelf checks every item inside it. If even one component has a conflicting booking, the entire kit booking is blocked. To find which item is the problem:

Open the kit → Assets tab
Check each item's Bookings tab or look at the calendar for the date range you want
Resolve the conflict on the blocking item (cancel, shorten, or remove it from the kit)

Extending a booking hits a conflict

If you try to extend a booking's end date but the extension overlaps with the next booking, Shelf blocks the extension. Options:

Shorten your extension to end before the next booking starts
Ask the next booking's owner to shift their start date
Return the asset on time and create a new booking after the gap

Overdue items blocking new bookings

If a previous booking is overdue (asset not checked in by the scheduled end), it blocks the next booking from starting. The fix:

The current custodian needs to check in the asset
Once checked in, the next booking can proceed
Admins can also force-release custody from the asset's page → Actions → Release custody

See Partial Check-ins if only some items from a kit booking were returned.

Still stuck?

Contact support with:

The asset or kit name
The date range you're trying to book
A screenshot of the error or the booking tab showing the conflict